Pakistan: Race against time to act against urban flooding in Karachi

Karachi: Life came to a grinding halt in several parts of Karachi due to monsoon downpour during the Eid Al Adha holidays as the Meteorological Department has forecast more rains in the city and other parts of Sindh due to a fast-approaching strong low-pressure system.

Social media was abuzz with video clips showing several roads and streets in different areas of Karachi flooded after heavy rain since the night of the first Eid Al Adha day.

Urban flooding rendered several neighbourhoods completely inaccessible. Areas in District South of Karachi, especially the posh localities of Defence Housing Authority, Clifton and the downtown commercial area of Saddar, have been worst-affected due to torrential rains.

Unattended waste of sacrificial animals was found floating on accumulated rainwater in a number of areas causing severe unhygienic conditions for the concerned residents.

People in different residential localities remained trapped in their homes for several hours as the streets were completely inundated with rainwater mixed with overflowing sewage. Essential health care services were also affected due to flooding in city hospitals.

Electric supply was suspended for several hours in various parts of the city as power stations were damaged due to heavy rains. Several people lost their lives due to rain-related accidents, mostly by electrocution.

Record rainfall in 15 hours

Talking to journalists, Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, said that the discharge of rainwater from several city drains into the sea had become highly problematic due to the high tide in the Arabian Sea.

“I myself witnessed that the drains were filled to the brim as the sea instead of taking water pushes it back as resultantly rainwater overflows within the city instead of being disposed of,” he said.

He said the southern parts of Karachi had received a record 233 millimetres of rain in just 15 hours. The rain disposal system of Karachi didn’t have the capacity to drain so much quantity of rainwater at one time, he added.

The CM was of the view that unchecked construction on natural storm water drains in Karachi over the last several decades hampered the speedy disposal of rainwater.

He thanked Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, for calling him and assuring of full support on behalf of the federal government to tackle the rain emergency in Karachi.

He said the entire government machinery had been deployed in Karachi to ensure speedy disposal of accumulated rainwater before the next spell of monsoon rains.

Shah said that Sindh Police and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had been asked to rescue people trapped in the affected areas and make emergency arrangements to provide them with shelter if they didn’t have any alternative accommodation in the city.

He said that 29 people had lost their lives in the city due to different rain-related accidents before the latest spell of monsoon rains.

Meanwhile, Sindh Information Minister, Sharjeel Inam Memon, said that people could call anytime ‘1736’ helpline of the PDMA and ‘919’ complaint cell number of the CM House for any emergency assistance in the aftermath of heavy rains.